ATSSB Officer Bios

Mike Bartley - President

Mike Bartley is in his first year as Director of Bands/Fine Arts for Canton Independent School District. Previously, he served five years as Associate Band Director for Canton ISD. Mr. Bartley is a 1993 high honors graduate of the University of Arkansas and is in his 22nd year of teaching. He has held teaching positions in Owasso, Oklahoma, Alma, Arkansas, and Spearman, Texas. Immediately prior to coming to Canton, Mr. Bartley held a position as assistant band director in Wills Point where he served as percussion instructor, seventh grade band director, and director of the high school concert band. During the time that he assisted in Wills Point, the program grew and became competitive at UIL Region, Area, and State levels, attending the Texas AAA state marching competition three times and winning the silver medal in 2006. While Mr. Bartley assisted at Canton, the band attended the AAA state marching competition twice, finishing 5th place in 2010 and 4th place in 2012. This fall, under Mr. Bartley's direction, the Canton Band competed in the 2014 Texas AAAA state marching competition, finishing in 6th place. Bands under Mr. Bartley's direction have consistently received sweepstakes awards throughout his career. Mr. Bartley's bands have also competed in the ATSSB Outstanding Performance Series, having recordings move to the Area level, as well as being a State Finalist. In addition to his duties at Canton ISD, Mr. Bartley also serves as the ATSSB Region 3 Coordinator and served as the ATSSB AAA State Representative from 2012-2014. He is an active adjudicator and serves on the faculty of the University of Arkansas Summer Music Camp. Mr. Bartley is a member of the Texas Music Educators Association, Association of Texas Small School Bands, Texas Bandmasters Association, Texas Music Adjudicators Association, and Pi Kappa Lambda. Mr. Bartley and his wife, Jenny, a music educator in Grand Saline ISD, have two sons. Daniel, age 12, is a seventh grader who plays trumpet, and Matthew, age 9, is a fourth grader, both attending Canton ISD.

Jim Cude - Immediate Past-President

Jim Cude is the band director at Whitesboro High School in Region 5. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from Hardin-Simmons University. He taught in Roby from 1987-88, Roscoe from 988-1993, Hamlin from 1993-2000, Breckenridge from 2000-2002, and Whitesboro from 2002 to the present.He is a member of ATSSB, TMEA, TMAA, and Phi Beta Mu. Mr. Cude served as 3A Representative to the State Board for ATSSB from 2011-2012. He also served on the TMEA State Board as the Region 2 President from 2000-2002, chairman of the TMEA Region 2 district band from 1995-2002, and served ATSSB Region 2 and ATSSB Region 5 as a region band organizer. He also served as the organizer of the Region 5 workshop. Mr. Cude is currently serving as the contemporary music pastor at the First Baptist Church in Whitesboro where he was also elected as a deacon. In 2012, he organized a church-wide effort to serve the city of Whitesboro in various service projects. He has also organized and participated in mission trips to the city of New Orleans at Christmas to feed and serve the homeless. His bands have consistently received the UIL Sweepstakes award and performed at the State Marching Contest in 2002, 2004 and 2006. He has adjudicated bands both in Texas and Oklahoma. Mr. Cude was inducted into Phi Beta Mu in 2005. He and his wife Linda have two children: 20-year-old Lauren who is a college student, and 15-year-old Caleb, a freshmen at Whitesboro High School.

Kenneth Griffin - Executive Secretary

Kenneth Griffin received his Bachelors and Masters degree from East Texas State University (now Texas A&M-Commerce). He is currently teaching part-time as band director at St. John Paul II Catholic School in Houston. He retired after teaching thirty-one years in public schools, the last twenty of which were at Van High School. His bands in Van accumulated a string of nineteen consecutive Sweepstakes Awards, was named the 1986 AAA TMEA State Honor Band, won the AAA Sweepstakes Trophy at the 1986 Texas State Solo Ensemble Contest in Austin, and was named the Outstanding AAA Band at the 1988 National Association of Military Marching Bands Texas State Marching Contest. He is a life member of TSTA, is a founding charter member and Executive Secretary of the Association of Texas Small School Bands, is a member of the Texas Music Adjudicators Association and Phi Beta Mu and serves as a clinician and adjudicator across the state. His wife Jeannie is retired from a career in public school music, having taught junior and senior high choir and elementary music for twenty five years. His daughter Alecia is a Cum Laude graduate of Southern Methodist University in Dallas and the Juilliard School of Music in New York and is Founder, principal oboe and Executive Director of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra in Houston (www.rocohouston.org). He is a published composer of instrumental and choral music, most recently concert marches "Talion", "Day To Day", "Where Eagles Dare", "First Colony," and "White Oak" distributed by The Griffin Press on the Internet. He was commissioned by ATSSB to write a march commemorating the 25th anniversary of ATSSB's founding. The march is entitled "Resolution" and was premiered by the 2016 ATSSB All-State Symphonic Band under the direction of Stephen Pratt. His composition "Chicago Belle Motifs" based on themes from John Philip Sousa's march Chicago Belle was selected as the winner of the ATSSB 2018 Composition Competition and will be premiered by the 2018 ATSSB All-State Concert Band under the dfirectio of Dr. Matthew McInturf and will be published by TRN.

Collin Anderson - OPS State Chair

Collin Anderson is the Director of Band and Fine Arts for Groesbeck ISD. His Bachelor of Music degree was conferred in 1992 at East Texas Baptist University. He also holds a Masters of Music Education degree, conferred at Hardin Simmons University in 2007. He has taught in Crockett ISD (1992-1995), Centerville ISD (1995-2003), and Breckenridge ISD (2003-2007) before becoming the Head Band Director at Groesbeck in 2007. He became an adjunct professor for Navarro College in 2009 teaching two courses of Music Appreciation annually. Collin is a member of ATSSB, TMEA, and TMAA, and was inducted into Phi Beta Mu in 2012. He previously held the position of Region 8 Coordinator from 2000-2002 and again from 2007-2013. His OPS affiliation began in 1999 when he became the computer tabulator for the previous OPS State Chair Don Thoede, and assisted with the state level of OPS until being appointed the OPS State Chair for 2017. Collin is a member of First Baptist Church of Groesbeck where he serves as deacon and assists with the A/V work during the early worship service. He and his wife have three children: Matthew (a US Marine and former F horn player), Kathryn (our oboe player who plans to be a chef), and Micah (a mischievous elementary student who plays piano).